Architects View 2,000 Years of Brick History at Recent 2014 TSA Convention in Houston

Historic bricks from the Roman Forum and other world landmarks were displayed in the Acme Brick Company booth at this year’s convention of the Texas Society of Architects (TSA) in Houston.

The brick were from Acme’s “Walter R. Bennett Collection,” which is housed at the company’s Fort Worth, Texas headquarters. Bennett, son of company founder George Bennett, traveled the world collecting bricks from every continent for his collection. Bricks on display in the Acme Brick booth at TSA are from Pompeii, the Roman Forum, the Great Wall of China, Phi Mai Temple in Thailand, the U.S. Capitol Building, Boston’s Old State House, the foundation of the Statue of Liberty, Knights of Pythias Hall in Fort Worth, Texas. and the Citadel Laferriere in Haiti. Bennett’s goal was to demonstrate that cultures around the globe valued genuine brick as the ultimate building material.

The brick shown at the Houston event were protected by Pinkerton, the famed risk management agency that traces its roots back to 1850. Acme Brick CEO and President, Dennis Knautz, said: “Most of the brick in this collection are one of a kind and irreplaceable, so we thought it wise to hire the best in the business to keep them secure.”

The TSA convention was attend by some 3,500 architects and industry professionals November 6 & 7 in Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center.  Acme Brick executives believe that the educational brick display has increased architects’ awareness of the role that hard-fired brick has played in cultures worldwide.

Acme Brick Company, founded in 1891, is the nation’s largest brickmaker, with 26 brick plants and 70 company-owned sales offices across 17 states. Acme Brick Company has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. since 2000.